Only when my family knew their own affairs and the Khitans themselves did they know how much they had suffered in the battle at Luancheng. When he received the battle damage report, Yelu Ruan's face turned green and his heart was bleeding.
It's too awful!
Among the dead and wounded troops, in addition to Xiren, Mohe, Shiwei and other barbarian soldiers, there were also a large number of Khitan soldiers. The upper-level Khitan nobles, generals, and chiefs of various ethnic groups also suffered heavy casualties in the chaos, like Yelvba. Several senior generals such as Reed were killed in battle. These people were the cornerstone of maintaining Khitan rule.
The troops that can accompany Yelu Deguang are all the elites of the Khitan. Their injuries are so serious that they may shake the foundation of their rule. This defeat is difficult to fully explain even with the injury of muscles and bones.
The casualties of the army were only one of them. What also made Yelu Ruan feel distressed was the large amount of wealth and materials accompanying the army. They spent more than half a year plundering and plundering in the Central Plains and Hebei, and now it seemed that they were all used as wedding dresses for the enemy. These wealth are also very important to the Khitan people.
You must know that since Shi Jin and the Khitan broke up and turned against each other, in the past few years of wrestling, Yelu Deguang also resorted to military violence, and the losses suffered by the Khitan were not small, especially in the two battles of Qicheng and Yangcheng. suffered serious losses. In the Khitan country, the people were already in dire straits and the troops were exhausted.
Last year, when Yelu Deguang went south to destroy the Jin Dynasty, he came with almost the strength of the whole country. Originally, even if it was impossible to occupy the Central Plains for a long time, even if Yelu Deguang died, just relying on the treasures plundered in the Central Plains and transporting them back to the country would be enough to bring back a lot of blood to the Khitan, alleviate domestic conflicts, and at the same time make further progress. develop.
It would even help Yelu Ruan return to the country to fight for the throne. But now, the good situation has been ruined, and it has been lost to grandma’s family.
At the same time, Yelu Ruan's heart was filled with unwillingness and regret. The defeat in Luan City was too humiliating. There is a saying that the Khitan has never suffered such a heavy blow since the founding of the country. Even when they destroyed the Jin last year, the Khitan army did not exert much force, and the later Jin fell on its own.
However, just half a year later, in a foreign country, in Luancheng, hundreds of thousands of cavalry were defeated in an inexplicable way. Maybe if you think carefully after the war, you can reflect on some problems and sum up some experiences. At this moment, Yelu Ruan, who is still enduring the pain and licking his wounds in Zhending City, can't calm down to think seriously.
Especially after the news about Luan City and the enemy's situation after the war reached Yelu Ruan's ears. Out of the eight thousand Longqi Army, the enemy only had eight thousand people. Their hundreds of thousands of elites were playing up the opponent's background, and Yelu Ruan's mentality immediately collapsed.
In front of the returning generals, Yelu Ruan shouted excitedly that he would lead his army to counterattack in order to avenge him and bring shame to him with blood. There are many Khitan noble generals who have the same idea as Yelu Ruan. They, the Khitan, have never suffered such a loss, and they will definitely take revenge.
However, after all, there are some people who are relatively clear-headed, or relatively stable people. For example, Zhang Li among the Han officials and Yelu Antuan among the Khitan people.
"The Liu family has few soldiers. The previous victory was only due to a sneak attack. Zhen Ding still has tens of thousands of strong soldiers. Why not send his troops south to attack them? Are you afraid and timid about the enemy?" In response to the dissuasion of the generals headed by the two men, Yelu Ruan asked sternly.
Zhang Li was not young yet. He suffered from the great military disaster and became more and more old. However, he looked determined to be a loyal Khitan minister and persuaded excitedly: "Your Majesty, although there are many generals in Zhending City, they have returned from a great defeat. , the morale of the army is scattered and morale is low. How can we compete with the enemy who is showing the potential for a great victory? Moreover, the opponent has Jin soldiers and Yan soldiers to help, and our army does not have an absolute advantage in strength. In such a situation, can we go south to compete with them? "
"Yan Bing? Sooner or later, I will make this traitor pay the price!" Speaking of Yan Bing, Yelu Ruan became even more furious. Suddenly his eyes narrowed and he stared at Zhang Li coldly: "If those Han soldiers hadn't betrayed, how could our army have done so?" As for this? Does Duke Zhang have any ulterior motives in discouraging me from marching?"
Yelv Ruan was not too fond of Zhang Li, not because he was a Han official, but because this man was too relied upon by Yelv Deguang.
Faced with Yelu Ruan's question, Zhang Li blushed all of a sudden, with shame and anger on his face. He raised his hand and pointed at his heart: "Your Majesty is kind to me, and you are extremely polite and don't think about the evil of betrayal. I can only repay you with all my heart. If King Yongkang doubts my intentions, he can express his sincerity and make his ambition clear!"
But seeing Zhang Li's emotional look, Yelu Ruan shrugged his nose, avoided his eyes, sat down angrily, and fell silent. Seeing Yelu Ruan's reaction, Zhang Li's rapidly beating heart slowed down. He kept a low profile and whispered in his heart: This is the only way he can do it.
Zhang Li was an upright and vindictive person, but he was not stupid either. He had seen the signs and knew that his life would not be easy after Yelu Deguang's death. Taking advantage of the new defeat of the Liao army, he was already thinking about finding an opportunity to flee south. I even regretted that I didn't stay decisively during the chaotic battle that night...
With anger, he inspected the troops in the city. Yelu Ruan decisively stopped shouting. He had no idea about the morale of the troops. He just didn't expect that with the strong city to rely on for rest, instead of getting better, it would continue to deteriorate. the trend of.
"Your Majesty, what Zhang Li said makes sense. At this time, with the state of our army, it is really not suitable to send troops to fight. Stabilizing people's hearts and restoring morale is the most important thing!" Several confidants were summoned to discuss, Yelu'an Tuan once again admonished Yelu Ruan.
Glancing at him, Yelu Ruan was not so stubborn this time, but his heart was really unbalanced: "It's really hard to calm down the anger in my heart just by letting the Liu family kid go like this!"
But Yelu An Tuan said: "Lieutenant General, who is not full of anger? Your Majesty needs to calm down and consider the long term."
Sighing, Yelu Ruan asked: "In your opinion, what should we do next?"
"The Southern Dynasty is already a land of disputes and cannot be stayed for a long time. The soldiers miss their homes and return home, so they should return north as soon as possible!" Yelu'an Tuan said: "It is conceivable that after the news of the Battle of Luan City spread all over the world, the resistance of various states in China will It’s even more intense. Before the impact expands, order the officials and generals in each state to lead the troops to withdraw northward!”
Hearing this, Yelu Ruan's eyes lit up at this moment: "There are still no less than 100,000 troops in the Central Plains and Hebei states, and they can be gathered together..."
Before Yelu Ruan could finish speaking, Yelu An shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, today's Southern Dynasty is a quagmire. If we don't get out in time and sink into the current situation, we will only be unable to extricate ourselves, and the losses will be even greater! "
"Do you think so too?" Yelu Ruan looked at several other confidants. Either hesitant, nodding, or silent, that is, there is no clear rebuttal. It can be seen that the battle in Luancheng gave these people a great sense of frustration.
"Is it possible that even Hebei has to be handed over to Liu Zhiyuan?" Yelu Ruan said in a sweet tone.
Mentioning this, Yelu An Tuan sneered and said: "Your Majesty, how can it be so easy to do this in the Southern Dynasties? Since the Tang Dynasty, there have been so many emperors in the past forty or fifty years. You can be sure that as long as I As soon as the army retreated, many people stood up to oppose Liu Zhiyuan."
"Judging from the past performance of the Han people, they will never give up until they fight to the death and decide the winner. The king only needs to lead me, the Khitan son, to recuperate in the country and watch the internal friction. The land of Youyan is still with us. In your hands, wait until you regain your strength before heading south."
Yelu Antuan's suggestion sounds quite reasonable, but if you don't talk about anything else, first of all, how can it be so easy to restore power...
However, Yelu Ruan thought about it and nodded in agreement.
"Right now, for the king, there are more important things!" Yelu'an said in a deep voice, his eyes roving twice.
"What?"
"The country cannot be left without a master for a day. Your Majesty, please ascend to the throne as soon as possible and inherit the great cause!" Yelu An suddenly stood up and knelt down.
Seeing this, Yelu Ruan was not surprised at all. He just frowned and waved his hands repeatedly: "Our army just suffered this defeat..."
"That's why we need measures to boost morale, inspire military morale, and stabilize the situation!"
Yelu Ruan was silent. It was impossible to say that he was not moved. Even before the battle of Luancheng, he had planned how to wait for the Liao Emperor's position in the expected place.
However, at the moment when he suffered a big defeat, he was very hesitant: "There is also the emperor's uncle Yelu Lihu in Beijing, and the Queen Mother Shulu must support him. In my current situation, how can I win over him!"
"Therefore, it is even more necessary to gather the military power left in the Southern Dynasty!" Yelu'an Tuan said: "Besides, the emperor's brother is cruel, arrogant and unpopular, and he will definitely not be the king's opponent!"
Yelu Ruan felt a little upset. Luan Cheng's defeat made Yelu Ruan feel a little less confident.
As if he could see Yelu Ruan's concerns, Yelu Antuan continued: "The fault of the defeat of Luan City does not lie with the king, it was the evil cause planted by the late emperor..."
He stood up, with a sullen face, and after lingering for a long time, Yelu Ruan raised his hand: "Immediately send out messengers to inform the garrison troops in various places about the withdrawal. Over there in Luan City, keep watching!"
"yes!"
...
With the dispatch of the messenger, the Liao army was basically determined to completely withdraw from the land of the Southern Dynasties. Compared with the good harvest trip from Kaifeng back to the north, this time he was full of resentment and even went crazy before leaving. Not to mention other places, it is true that the Liao army looted them all, which also caused more fierce resistance.
Although Yelu Ruan kept hinting that he wanted to return north to seize the throne and hide his strength and bide his time, the Liao soldiers who went north could not hide their bleak and embarrassed temperament at all.
PS: This chapter must be 2cm longer.
